Porch shade



F. M. POWERS Jan. 15, 1952 PORCH SHADE Filed May 16, 1949 jive a7: Jg%%% 5% prises a headrod Patented Jan. 15, 1952 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE PORCH SHADE Frank M. Powers; River Forest, 111.

Application May 16, 1949, Serial No. 93,533

6 Claims. (Cl. 160-243) This invention relates to an improved fabric porch shade of the type which is adapted to be hung in a porch or window opening and to be rolled up when its draw cord is pulled.

Such porch shades have commonly been made of canvas or similar pliable fabrics, and are proraise the shade, which tends to roll about the heavy bottom bar.

Such shades have never rolled tightly because the fabric tends to bunch up above the bottom bar before any rolling action takes place. As a result, the finished roll is usually loose in the middle and presents an untidy appearance. Likewise,-the bunching effect increases the likelihood that the cords will draw the shade up unevenly.

I have found that if the fabric shade is provided with at least two immediately adjoining tubular seams, and a cross bar is placed in each of the tubes, a pull on the draw cord rolls the lower bar upwardly alongside the next adjacent bar so as to form the core for a tight roll and eliminate bunching of the fabric above the bars.

Furthermore, the use of two or more bar of small cross section provides a relatively strong bottom bar assembly without the necessity of using a thick bar which form a large bulge at the lower end or the shade.

The improved shade is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an improved porch shade; Fig. 2 is a section taken as indicated at 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing the extreme lower end of the porch shade and draw cord, together with the two lower bars; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the position of the bars immediately after starting the roll; and Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the lower end of the shade after it is partly raised.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, Ill indicates the frame of a porch or window opening to the upper portion of which a porch shade may be secured. The shade itself com- I I provided with mounting brackets IZ by means of which it may be secured to the framework ID of the porch. A shade of pliable material l3, such as canvas, has a tubular seam M at its upper end through which the headrod ll passes so that the fabric is supported from the headrod.

shade so that when the free ends are pulled, they 7 The lower end of the fabric shade I3 is doubled back against itself and stitched at l5 to form a deep tubular seam, and. this scam is then stitched in the middle, at 16, to form a pair of adjoining tubular seams l1 and I8. A first rod I9 hangs in the lower tubular seam I1, and a second rod 20 hangs in the upper tubular seam l8. Rods l9 and 20 are thus spaced apart, are parallel to one another and each rod extends substantially entirely across the width of the shade. In order. to give the desired elTect, the rod l9 must be far enough below the rod 20 that it can swing about the rod 20 and lie beside it as the shade is rolled.

The shade is provided with a draw cord 2| by means of which it may be raised and lowered. This cord is secured to the porch by means of eyes 22, and runs through eyes 23 and 24 in the conventional fashion, so as to pass down one side of the shade, loop around the lower end thereof and up the opposite side of the shade and have a free end 25 which may be pulled to effect the raising of the shade.

When the shade is in its lowered position. its bottom end appears as seen in Fig. 3, with the rod l9 hanging substantially directly below the rod 20. When the free end 25 of the cord 2| is pulled, it swings the rod l9 up in its tubular seam I! about the rod 20 until the two rods are side by side as seen in Fig. 4. As the raising action is continued, the rod l9 rolls to a position above the rod 20, and this rolling action of the two rods then continues as the shade is raised. Thus, the shade rolls smoothly and cleanly from the beginning of the raising action, and bunching of the shade above the bottom bars is avoided.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of understanding onlv, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A porch shade, comprising: adapted to be secured to the upper framework of a porch; a sheet of pliable material suspended from said headrod; a plurality of parallel, substantially rigid'members secured to and extend ing substantially entirely across said sheet of pliable material adjacent its lower end portion, said members being spaced apart longitudinally of said sheet and the space between said members being only sufficient to permit any member to swing about the next higher member and lie beside it to form a compact composite core about which the sheet rolls; and a draw cord adapted to raise the sheet by rolling it about said rigid a headrod members when the free end of the cord is pulled.

2. A porch shade according to claim 1 wherein the substantially rigid members are carried in a pair of immediately adjacent tubular seams formed in the sheet of pliable material.

3. A porch shade, comprising: a headrod adapted to be secured to the upper framework of a porch; a sheet of pliable material suspended from said headrod; a plurality of spaced, parallel, substantially rigid members secured to and extending substantially entirely across said sheet of pliable material, at least two of said members being closely spaced adjacent its lower end and being separated by only a sufficient distance that any member may swing about the next higher member and lie beside it to form a compact composite core about which the sheet rolls; and a draw cord adapted to raise the sheet by rolling it about said rzid members when the free end of thecord is pulled.

4. In a pliable fabric porch shade having a headrod by which it may be secured to the upper framework-of a porch and having a draw cord by which it may be raised and lowered by rolling and unrolling it, a plurality of closely spaced, parallelsubstantially rigid members secured to andextending substantially across the lower end portion of the curtain about which the curtain may r011 when the draw cord is pulled, the space between said members being only suflicient to permit any member to swing about the. next 4 higher member and lie beside it to form a compact composite core about which the sheet rolls. 5. A porch shade according to claim 4 wherein the substantially rigid embers are carried in a plurality of tubular seams formed in the fabric. 6. A porch shade, comprising: a headrod adapted to be secured to the upper framework of a porch; a sheet of pliable material suspended from said headrod; a pair of closely spaced, parallel, substantially rigid members secured to and extending substantially entirely across said sheet of pliable material adjacent its lower end, the space between said members being only sufiicient to permit the lower member of the pair to swing about the upper member of the pair and lie beside it as the sheet is rolled; and a draw cord adapted to raise the sheet by rolling it about said rigid members when the free end of the cord is pulled.

FRANK M. POWERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 626,475 Andrews June 6, 1899 904,298 Bell Nov. 17, 1908 1,225,060 Russell May 8, 1917 2,336,899 Stern Dec. 14, 1943 

